Stace Ginn and his wife of 15 years, Melanie Shaw Ginn, have been faithful servants in the planning and planting of Gospel City Church, sharing their expertise and knowledge as business owners, leaders, and philanthropists. Since the church’s inception, Stace has served on the Business Advisory Board and feels that his relationship with the McCaman and Rodriguez families, the Gospel City congregation, and their ministry has been an extraordinary blessing in his life and walk with Christ.

Born and raised in northern Kentucky, Stace grew up in the Christian home of a farming family, virtually becoming a “PK” (Pastor’s Kid) as a child when their church’s pastor, “Pastor Andy,” his wife, and their teenage children lovingly served as his caregivers during his formative years while his parents were at work. Stace is the only child of his mother, Linda, who worked her way up from a bookkeeper to be the first woman president of a bank in southern Indiana, and his father, Phillip, who was a farmer and Army veteran. Phillip and Linda have been married for 63 years. Today, they are retired and live on a small horse farm in Kentucky, where Stace and Melanie have built a home to be close to them during the summer months. 

In 2020, Stace and Melanie decided they also wanted to be near Melanie’s parents, Bob and Suzanne Shaw, and they started their search for a second home in Boynton Beach, Florida, where Melanie was raised. Through a God-driven series of miraculous circumstances, they were able to quickly find a home only a block from Melanie’s parents’ home and closed on it just as the pandemic hit. 

Bob, who was a great spiritual inspiration to Stace, recently passed away in September of 2022, so the Ginns are extremely grateful that the Lord led them to their second home and allowed them to be exactly where they needed to be during this season of all of their lives. They are now enjoying spending extended time with Suzanne as she courageously moves into a new chapter without her husband of 63 years.

Stace’s Journey to Faith: “I do not have a dramatic, ‘Road to Damascus’ salvation story. Having grown up with, literally, the church as my playground, I helped Pastor Andy put together church bulletins, witnessed his prayerful preparation for his weekly sermons, and accompanied him on home visitations. He crafted homemade wooden blocks for me and had me memorizing Bible verses and practicing mathematical equations at the age of three. His kindness and grace served as a beacon to me and a light that ultimately led me to accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior. When I was 12 years old, I asked Christ into my heart and accepted him as my Lord and Savior during a church revival. Later that month, I met with Brother Sparrow and the Elders about my decision, and when I was baptized, Brother Sparrow spoke to the congregation about how I had asked some of the most probing questions he had ever received from a child. I guess it was an early indication of my future as a skeptic, which is often a prerequisite for an attorney.

Today, my walk-in faith is pretty simple: I do not fear death. I have an unshakeable confidence. As a believer, my destiny is to be with Jesus and my Heavenly Father. Understanding that my destiny is death is my rock. Recently, at my father-in-law’s funeral, I read one of my favorite passages, Ecclesiastes 7:2-4, which states, ‘It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man, and the living should take this to heart. … The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning.’ For my daily walk, as I get older, I am consistently more aware than ever of my need to be stronger and more grounded in the Word of God as my encouragement and guidance to navigate the myriad of challenges that inevitably have and will come. That is something that Pastor Dave’s and Jose’s preaching, our weekly Bible study, and our growing friendships with fellow believers have offered as a treasure in my life, a gift that is a touchstone for what is true and what matters.”

Professionally, Stace has over 30 years of executive-level banking, business, and finance experience, in addition to being a practicing attorney. His comprehensive background in the banking industry brings a wealth of expertise in management, budget, and finance, while his primary areas of legal practice include commercial and contract law, tax law, property law, and regulatory compliance. He and Melanie have dedicated the past decade of their careers to improving the trajectory of underserved students’ lives through their nationally renowned SMART® Model (School Health Model for Academics Reaching All and Transforming Lives). SMART® is an educational solution that focuses on breaking the cycle of poverty and improving the trajectory of lives. Stace is instrumental in navigating the comprehensive scope of multiparty agreements with school districts, health systems, and other stakeholders, as well as the myriad of regulatory issues entailed in working in educational and health care settings. Stace has also served as a director on various corporate and community boards including the Jefferson County United Way, Madison Area Council on Aging, and the Madison Bank & Trust Co.

Currently, Stace is the Chief Financial Officer and Legal Counsel for Ginn Group Collaborative (GGC), SMART®’s parent company, supporting Melanie, who is President and CEO of GGC and architect of the SMART® Model, and their national team. The transformational impact of the SMART® Model, including the Model’s proven ability to increase graduation rates by 56% and decrease out-of-school suspensions by 93%, has been nationally recognized and is supported by Fortune 50 Companies, major academic institutions, and community stakeholders. The data collected from the SMART® Model has been presented to the U.S. Senate Republican Task Force on Hispanic Affairs and at Congressional Breakfast Briefings and Symposia in Washington, D.C. The SMART® Model has earned congressional endorsement from both sides of the aisle, with the support of congressmembers Teri Sewell (D-AL) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), as well as the late Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

Most recently, Stace has worked extensively with Melanie and an external law firm to set up the SMART® Foundation, where he and Melanie have focused their professional and personal resources to preserve and strengthen SMART®’s legacy, donating the SMART® proprietary business model to the newly established SMART® Foundation—a public, 501(c)(3) organization—to protect its integrity, growth, and scalability in perpetuity.

Stace earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics and business administration at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He is admitted to the Kentucky State Bar.